Household indicator



M. SLAWIENSKI HOUSEHOLD INDICATOR Filed March 29, 1923 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVHVTOK M are sla 'zknskb' Nov. 5, 1924. 1,517,026

M. SLAWIENSKI HOUSEHOLD INDI CATOR Filed March 29, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 IF V51? 2' OR. 5, Mike ShWLCILSL 1.

Patented Nov. 25, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HIKE SLAWIENSKI, OF CAMDEN, NEW

HOUSEHOLD INDICATOR.

Application illed larch 29, 1923. Serial No. 628,543.

To all wkomit may concern:

Be it lmown that I, MIKE SnAwmNsm, a citizen of Poland, residing at Camden, in the county of Camden and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in a Household Indicator, of which the following is a specification.

My invention .relates to new and useful improvements in a household indicator, and has for its primary object to provide means operable by a person calling at a dwelling and the occupants of such dwelling to indicate who the caller is and the wishes of the occupants.

Another object of my invention is to provide a number of dials having indications, thereon, one of which is located on the outside of the building or near a door, and each provided with a pointer adapted to be simultaneously actuated so that when one is moved to an indication all others will be moved to a similar indication.

With these ends in view, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then specifically designated by the claim.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains, may understand how to make and use the same, I will describe its construction in detail, referring by numerals to the accompanyin drawings forming a part of this app ication in which Fig. 1, is a front elevation of one of the units .-util=ized in the embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2, is a sectional side elevation thereof illustrating one method of installation.

Fig. 3, is a fragmentary sectional side elevation on the line 33 of Fig. 4, of a sli htly modified form of unit.

. ig. 4, is a face view thereof.

Fig. 5, is a 'front elevation of a simple arrangement of my invention wherein the indications are to be made at only two points.

' Fig. 6, is an edge view thereof.

Fig. 7, is a semi-diagrammatic view illustrating an arrangement by which indications may be given at a number of, different localities.

In carrying out my invention as here embodied, 2 represents an indicating plate pfeferably formed of porcelain although any suitable material ma be used and as illustrated in Figs. 1 an 2 this plate is in the form of a dial or a circular shape and has a number of indications 3 delineated thereon in radial formation.

Passing through the center of late or dial is a shaft 4 having a knob 5 fixe thereto for rotating it. To the shaft, for movement over the outer face of the plate is also attached a pointer or hand 6 having its outer end projecting over the edge of the plate at right angles to the body of the hand and then bent upon itself so as to extend beyond the face of the plate for use as finger piece 7 to move said hand and rotate the shaft.

This pointer or hand has a slot or aperture 8 through it in order that the indication desired to be made will be visible therethrough. To hold the pointer or hand in the region of each indication said hand carries a light spring 9 for coaction with the notches 10 in the edge of the plateor dial, each of said notches being associated with an indication.

On the inner end of the shaft 4 is mounted a wheel 11, preferably a sprocket wheel as shown, on which runs a suitable motion transmitting means 12. This motion transmitting means is preferably made up of two pieces or sections of chain 13 and 14 with intervening sections of wire 15 and 16 connecting them and if found desirable suitable tensioning devices 17, such as turn-buckles, may be interposed in the sections of wire in order to make them taut.

, In the simplest form of the invention as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 the motion transmitting means also runs over another wheel 18, preferably a sprocket wheel of the same size as wheel 11, fixed to the shaft of another indicating unit including a dial or plate and ointer or hand and their component parts ldentical in all respects to the other unit above described.

Considering the indicating plates at the bottom of the drawing in Figs. 5 and 6 to be located on the outside-or near the door of a building and the indicating plate at the top of the drawingas on the inside of the building, either. in a room, hallway or other suitable location, then when the hand or pointer of the outside indicating plate is turned to indicate who the caller 1s, such as an iceman, or as soon as the occupants are notified by the door bell or a knock they may ascertain who is at the door by glancing at the inside indicating plate. If, for instance, no ice is desired the hand or pointer on the inside indicating plate may then be turned to some sentence such as none may thus quickly indicating the wishes of the occupants without any one of them having to go to the door from some distant point within the building. I

Where the device is to be used in a more comprehensive form such as shown in Fig. 7 the motion transmitting nreans 12 in addition to running over the wheel 11 on the shaft of the outside dial or indicating plate also runs over a wheel 19, preferably a sprocket wheel of the same size as the wheel 11, fixed to a counter shaft '20 carrying a number of other similar wheels 21, 22 and 23 and over these run motiontransmitting means 24, 25 and 26, respectively and also over wheels 27, 28 and 29 fixed to dial indieating plate shafts 30, 31 and 32, said last named shafts being associated with the elements of other indicating units located in different and possibly widely separated parts of the building inside indicating unit and ascertain who such caller is and at the same time indi-J Where','in either of these arrangements: a motion transmitting means such as described herein is used it is desirable to limit that it can be carried to -a certain point in one direction after which it maybe moved in the other direction'for proper operation and this is accomplished by providing a stop 33 on one or all of the indicating'dials or plates thus preventing the sections of chain from being disengaged Thom their sprocket wheels; 7

Where a unit is placed against awall, the framework or a door frame of the building I prefer that a recess 34 being formed therein to receive the sprocket wheel anda shaft supporting element 35 which may be set against the face of the wall or countersunk as shown in Fi 2 so as to be covered by the indicating dial or plate when the latter is placed in position andwhen so ar-f ranged holes 36 communicate with the recess 34 for the passage of the motion transmitso that when the outside indicatin unit 1s actuated all the other. units will besimultaneously actuated so that an occupant hearing the signal that a caller is at the door may proceed to the nearest 'm Figs- 1 and 2 or those described aseer-a tain who the caller and the, dIIGGtlOIlS In'Figs. 3 and 4, I have shown a slight modification of my invention wherein one hr more of the indicating plates may be of rectangular shape, such plate being represented by the numeral '37 and having the indication marks 38 in a row either vertical or horizontal. This plate has a slot 39 through which passes the shank 40 of the pointer or hand 41, said shank being connected with a rack 42 meshing with a gear wheel 43 fixed to the shaft 44 suitably journalled, asin a boss 45 on the bank of the plate and on this shaft is also fixed a wheel 46 preferably a sprocket for coaction with the motion transmitting means 12 hereinbefore described. 2

In this form of the invention the hand or pointer 41 may bemoved to the desired position which will then actuate the rack slidably mounted in the brackets 47 so as to rotate the gear 43 and thus transmit a rotarymotion to theshaft 44 and'the wheel 46 and cause the other indicating units -to operate whether they .be of the form shown illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact'det-ails of construction as herein .shown as these may be varied within" the limits; of the appended claim without departin from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully describedmy invention,'what-I claim as new and useful is .7 q A household indicator comprising in combination, aplurality of indicator dials havin' i indication marks thereon and provided I Wlth notches in the edge associated with the movements of the hand or pointer so] I through each dial, a hand or pointer fixed said indication marks, a shaft passing thereto and having an aperture whereby the mdication marks may be viewed therethrough, the outer end of said pointer being bent at right angles to project over thev -of the hand projecting over the edge of the dial and adapted to coact with the difierent notches on the edge of said dial, means to limit the movements of said hand, a knob fixed to the outer end of the shaft, a wheel fixed to the inner end of saidshaft, and

means transmitting motionfrom one of such wheels from one indicatingunit to another of such wheels onan'other indicating unit.

In testimonyjwhereof, I have hereunto I V afiixed. my signature.

MIKE SLAWIENS KI. 

